MailmanDave
17 Years Experience
Long Island, NY
Male, 43
I am a City Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in NY. I've been a city letter carrier for over 17 years and it is the best job I've ever had. I mostly work 5 days per week (sometimes includes a Saturday) and often have the opportunity for overtime, which is usually voluntary. The route I deliver has about 350 homes and I walk to each of their doors to deliver the mail. Please keep in mind that I don't have authority to speak for the USPS, so all opinions are solely mine, not my employer.
You may certainly ask a carrier to open the collection box, but I don't know if they will. I don't even have keys to open one of those boxes so it's possible the carrier you ask won't have access to the collection box. If you are able to have a carrier open the box, if there is a lot of mail in there, I don't know that they will take the time to go through it to find the bill you are looking for. Bring ID with you in case they want to match up the unsealed mail with your address. As I said, I don't know what response you will get from the letter carrier, but was just giving you some possibilities. It is also possible that the bill will get to the destination unsealed and all will be fine.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20mother%20had%20a%20bill%20to%20mail%2C%20everything%20was%20in%20the%20envelope%20and%20it%20was%20stamped.%20%20Some%20time%20after%206pm%2C%20I%20walked%20down%20to%20the%20blue%20collection%20box%20and%20mailed%20it.%20%20She%20didn%27t%20seal%20the%20envelope.%20Can%20I%20ask%20the%20carrier%20to%20open%20the%20box%20and%20find%20the%20envelope%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13574)
I am not sure how you would get the full name of your postman. I read that he won't give you his last name. I have no idea whether or not he has any obligation to do so. I gladly would give it out, if asked. It is also on my ID badge that I wear. I feel that it should be available to the public, but I am sure you will find great disagreement among my colleagues. If you were to call the PO and ask them, I have a feeling they wouldn't give it to you either. Some people get very private about certain matters, yet they will join Facebook and broadcast a lot about their personal lives. That's about all of the insight I have on this subject. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20i%20get%20the%20full%20name%20of%20my%20postman%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12849)
Albert, your message posted 2x so I will answer it once and then copy and paste it. I currently work 7 hours a day as I am on a limited schedule for personal reasons. A regular city letter carrier can expect to work 8 hours per day (plus 30 min. unpaid lunch), 5 days per week. The 5 days may not be consecutive since mail is delivered 6 days per week. As a new hire, you will likely be a CCA (city carrier assistant) who has a very varied schedule and I'm not sure they are guaranteed any hours. I believe starting pay is about $16/hour for a CCA, with very few benefits, if any. Once you are promoted to a regular city carrier, the salary increasea to about $23/hour and tops out at about $28.50/hr after a certain amt. of years. These salaries are set in accordance with a labor agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which is our union. You also get benefits once you become a regular city letter carrier as opposed to a CCA. If you visit the website www.nalc.org they have pay charts listed or you can probably just do a google search or look on www.glassdoor.com. Good luck in what is a pretty good career in my opinion.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=how%20many%20hours%20a%20day%20do%20you%20work%3F%20How%20much%20is%20starting%20pay%20for%201%20hour%3F%20%0A%0AThank%20you.%20I%20want%20to%20be%20a%20mailman%20and%20I%20am%2018.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12861)
Generally I would say no. I know that I don't carry them in my vehicle. We are told to empty out our vehicles each night. Maybe some carriers do bring them with, but I would doubt it and we aren't told to by management. If a customer asked me to bring them some I would the next day. The best way to get supplies is to visit a Post Office or order the Priority Mail supplies for free at www.usps.com. Thank you for your inquiry and I think Priority Mail is one of the most reliable services that the USPS provides.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=do%20mailmen%20carry%20flat%20rate%20boxes%20and%20envelopes%20on%20their%20vehicles%20for%20people%20who%20need%20them%20along%20the%20route%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12974)
Special Education Teacher
How come it often takes years to figure out that a kid is dyslexic?
Air Traffic Controller
What was it like in the tower on 9/11?
Track and Field Coach
How often are your athletes tested for PEDs and is it easy to beat?
Another good question on this message board that I dont know the answer to. We rarely ever look at or are directed to a USPS employee handbook. I am sure it exists but don't know where it is at my PO. I am pretty sure my supervisor would have it at their desk or know where to find it. As far as writing a personal note directly on a letter, I would suggest that it not be done, but I can't say that it is against the rules. In general I don't think we should be making any comments or judgments about the mail that somebody receives. I'm not saying we don't talk about it internally but I wouldn't comment (in person or in writing) to the mail recipient or anybody else in public. That would be completely inappropriate. Please notice I don't use the word "illegal" here as I am not versed in the legality or disciplinary actions that are in play here, if any. The only time I would write directly on the mail is if I'm not familiar with the name of the recipient on a piece of mail that differs from the current residents that I know live at a particular address. In this case, I put a "?" next to the addressees name and deliver the letter. By doing this, the current residents can accept the letter or realize I wasn't sure if it was delivered correctly and leave it out for me the next day to return to the sender as "Attempted, Not Known." Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20received%20a%20very%20important%20%26%20personal%20letter.%20Our%20mail%20carrier%2C%20whom%20we%20have%20not%20yet%20met%2C%20left%20a%20congratulatory%20note.%20That%20was%20kind%2C%20but%20she%20wrote%20it%20in%20red%20ink%20directly%20on%20the%20envelope%21%20I%20was%20surprised.%20Does%20the%20USPS%20employee%20handbook%20allow%20that%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12692)
Do you mean that the marking was "insufficient postage", not "insufficient packaging". If it was "insufficient postage", I'm pretty sure you would just have to pay the difference between the Parcel Select rate and the Priority Mail rate. What I'm not sure about is how you get credit for an already purchased postage label, if that's even possible. If you took this to the PO for some type of resolution, I question whether all of the clerks would know how to adjust the rate properly as the ability, care, and training of the SSAs (sales and service associates) seems to vary widely. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20sent%20an%20item%20in%20a%20Priority%20Mailing%20envelope%2C%20but%20the%20label%20I%20purchased%20online%20via%20PayPal%20was%20for%20Parcel%20Select.%20%20It%20was%20returned%20to%20me%20as%20%22insufficient%20packaging%22.%20%20Does%20this%20mean%20I%20have%20to%20pay%20all%20that%20postage%20again%3F%20%20Thanks%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13103)
I am not sure why a postman would be spraying/peppering dogs without actually feeling or being threatened by dogs. We are told to just skip any residence that has loose dogs and notify the supervisor upon return to the PO as to why you didn't deliver the mail. It isn't uncommon for a postman to leave a note for a patron to contain the dogs or "fix your mailbox", etc. We do have more official notices that we can use to ask residents to rectify a situation which is preventing mail delivery, but I'm not sure how frequently they are used. The management in our office isnt terribly communicative with us about this, but I can't tell you what it is like at other Post Offices.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20have%20been%20having%20problems%20with%20my%20postman%20for%20a%20year.%20He%20has%20peppered%20my%20dogs%20and%20I%20have%20complained%20numerous%20times%20what%20do%20i%20do%20now%3F%20Also%20he%20has%20put%20a%20fake%20notice%20to%20%22tether%20my%20dogs.%22%20It%20has%20no%20official%20seal%20and%20the%20envelope%20is%20a%20blank%20oneisitreal%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12276)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
